1. Introduction
The digital gap presents itself as both an imminent disparity and an ever-present reality. Beyond the familiar tales of older relatives grappling with webcams and intimidating apps, the digital gap encompasses a socio-economic bias in relation to ICT and its users. In this contemporary age, the digital divide yields profound implications, impeding the national economic trajectory and the advancement of society as a whole. The principal objective of this composition is to pinpoint the issues linked to the digital divide and propose potential approaches to bridge the chasm between varying levels of access. In pursuit of this objective, the composition will expound on the concept of the ‘digital divide’ followed by a concise overview of the current ICT landscape in Jamaica. Subsequently, it will delve into the realm of digital inclusion and its societal implications. The composition will scrutinize the intricacies of the digital divide and explore several strategies with practical potential.
The thirty-first article of the Jamaican Charter of Rights proclaims that ‘every Jamaican shall have equitable and non-discriminatory access to other public facilities.’ The term ‘digital divide’ could be brought up in argumentative court regarding violations of such a principle. Estimated at large, 3,729,000 of Jamaica’s population were regular users of the internet in 2018. This was 1.28% of the total world users and equated to an internet penetration rate of 128.4% in Jamaica. Despite the overall numbers, certain demographics are largely underrepresented. The digital divide is not only causing issues regarding poverty, but also holds the capacity to limit the social mobility of the majority. With 71.8% of Jamaica possessing a cellular device, mobile internet is the potential fix for many of their problems. However, the degree of accessibility and the technical understanding of this alternative is just as stratified as high-speed internet. The novelty of the mobile device and the complexity of its uses represent the digital divide on these terms. Studies done on the accessibility of the internet across demographic backgrounds reveal a variance almost exclusively resting on income. While societal influences such as parental knowledge and education level can lead to an access increase in general, ‘the critical predictor of success is income itself.’ Strikingly, again, mere technological accessibility does not guarantee equal engagement. Limited income and educational level seem to correlate with a subsequent decreased participation in the internet society. Digital illiteracy within these contexts is largely a matter of lacking interest as our entry, as well as the infrastructure and necessary funding to implement new technologies, is very early. The digital divide ranges in complexity and applications and primarily stands as an enhancement of the current social inequality.
2. Understanding the Digital Divide
The digital divide is considered a phenomenon of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) development that is unrelated to a country’s Gross National Product or geography. The digital divide is not confined to developing countries. There is both residential and non-residential access, and there is also a description of the infrastructure of a country. Thus, today there is developed and underdeveloped infrastructure in countries that affects various technologies. The international digital divide can be seen between those countries that can afford advanced national technology. Using this argument, the entire infrastructural concepts of developed countries are based on technology resources and research and development, which are far more advanced.
There are several dimensions that need to be associated with usage. The first may be labeled the disparity between those who have access to ICTs and those who do not, referred to as the haves and the have-nots. It goes without saying that there are great disparities in ICT between developed and developing countries, as well as regions within countries. This section provides characteristics and opinions on the situation in various countries within the perspective of a wider view on digital opportunities as an expression of the digital divide. The digital divide can also be measured by inter-sectoral analysis. Computer capabilities, whether from software or hardware, are classified as rudimentary, basic, and enhanced skills. It could be said that the digital divide concept cannot only be measured by access disparities, which define the “first level digital divide,” and individual and social disparities from computer and internet utilization and capabilities of exploitation, referred to as the “second level digital divide” or “New Digital Divide.”
2.1. Definition and Scope
The digital divide is a wider concept that exists on multiple planes. People can be excluded from digital society because they lack access to digital and communication technology, which connects to various aspects of activities, or are cut off due to a lack of digital literacy. It does not stop there, however, as inaccessibility may also occur due to a lack of financial resources or internet services, or other unforeseeable circumstances such as the current global pandemic. The digital divide is economic, educational, social, or any other demographic aspect with respect to individuals and households, as they experience a lower quality of technology when obtaining access. Many other telecommunications access conferences do not break down to show how aligning the two processes has addressed the work of the digital divide as an underlying issue. Instead, the Digital Divide Talkshops address digital access concerns in relation to the socioeconomic and cross-section issues when looking at the broader view. Within Jamaica, the scope of digital divide access points to a problem not only in Kingston but extends to rural areas. Even within the Kingston metropolitan area, the penetration of access points is lower than 100%, which indicates the capital is also being affected. However, any such effort can only be successful if a large amount of information about the problem is documented.
Access to technology is closely related to location for two reasons. The first is due to the fact that the average monthly salary in rural areas, especially the agricultural areas where the majority of the Jamaican rural population resides, is remarkably lower than the average salary in the urban Kingston area. Cost is an important issue when discussing the digital divide. Secondly, with regard to this point, being a rural farmer does not demonstrate any interest in digital technology. A dismal and noticeably distinct 2% to 10% of farmers have expressed interest in utilizing computers and cellular telephones as a method of moving from subsistence to commercial or hobby farming. This scenario elucidates the digital divide affecting certain socioeconomic areas. Additionally, one can determine that the substantial expense incurred would not fit into their budget for taking care of the family and that there is no direct resource breakthrough for establishing the computer package.
2.2. Global Perspectives
The digital divide is a global issue, spanning the preferences of developed and developing nations. The lack of internet connectivity is a shared experience for various countries. The quest to bridge the gaping chasms of their societies is evident. The Jamaican quest is not uncommon in its otherness, seen in contrast to other global experiences. Even in developed countries with higher access rates, the gap could exist in certain specific groups of people. In answering the question of “What helps inclusion, and what stops people from being excluded?”, some solutions overlap with the Jamaican knowledge of the digital exclusion situation.
There were similar success stories in various countries in different international regions. These projects encompass a wide scope of visions, with a focus on empowerment, improved education, relevant content, cheaper technology, political and governmental support, and international help and collaboration. These strategies may shed light on avenues to navigate solutions for Jamaica. However, there are examples of failed strategies as well, including unstandardized investments and foreign aid, a lack of insight into the pervasiveness of the isolation, and the sheer scale of the digital exclusion which has topped many recent writings. It seems as though the “global crisis” theory of the digital divide holds more weight given the descriptions from international experiences, but a mix of fear and hope of digital “Americanization,” cultural divides, lack of empowerment and drivers, and a technical impossibility with the digital world suggests that the non-progressive factors must be their local stories as they are for us. Therefore, a shared, not mixed, strategy may be afoot for Jamaicans.
3. The State of Digital Inclusion in Jamaica
Jamaica sits at an interesting juncture as it relates to digital technology. Digitally connected in a way that was unimaginable two decades ago, access to devices and faster internet has transformed the way Jamaicans work, shop, connect, and consume information. Jamaican businesses have not been left behind, as even micro and small enterprises make investments in online interfaces and services. This would suggest an environment ripe for full digital inclusion. However, the reality is far less rosy. Currently, the Information and Communications (ICT) “heatmap” is not a pretty picture. The map looks like a checkerboard, with digital have-nots living next door to those connected to low-speed internet, living next door to those connected to high-speed internet.
The various components of digital inclusion, including internet access, or on a wider scale access to broadband services, are grossly unevenly distributed, with those living in Kingston and St. Andrew most likely to be connected. The issues here are not just the unilaterally declared cost of data and devices; people have neither the disposable income nor the capabilities to broaden use. Rural communities are particularly affected by a lack of broadband services. In fact, limited and fluctuating internet access outside urban centers has created its own parallel digital divides which, while primarily rooted in adoption, could be easily cured through connectivity. However, for small businesses in these areas, having limited or no internet access has negative implications for productivity. For rural community residents, limited internet access has health- and education-related implications, especially adversely affecting access to health treatments, communication with friends and family, doing homework, and finding out information. The nights would be even darker if achieved data speeds correlated to the package purportedly paid for across most ISPs. Digital skills, including literacy, are in short supply. Skills are correlated with age and living arrangements; the highest concentration of individuals with no digital skills living alone or in joint households is greater for 45-year-olds in Kingston, St. Andrew, and Portmore, repeating that cycle for the 55-year-old age group in these areas. Only those between the ages of 16 and 30 years old have a high concentration of individuals with some digital skills, among which a significant percentage are females. Research shows distinct gender differences in the likelihood of possessing no digital skills at all for males who are 31-45 years old living in Kingston and St. Andrew and for men 46-55 years old living in the county. Thus, lack of affordable technology constitutes a barrier to adopting new technologies. Even when people can afford to purchase technology products, they often cannot afford the regular social and economic expenses required for technology use that requires internet connectivity.
3.1. Access to Technology
Increasingly, policymakers and ICT service providers in Jamaica have been expending tremendous resources to bridge the inequalities that exist among various groups with respect to their access to and use of technology. Between them, these two groups have pushed the inclusion narrative and developed the impression that technology is essential, particularly in the field of education, and that life opportunities are virtually guaranteed to the extent that one has access to and knowledge of technology. These claims appear to have some merit, but in the Jamaican context, the fact is that most citizens, particularly those from rural communities, are unable to access digital technology due to a number of underlying challenges.
In doing so, however, we have had to focus on the twin missing technologies that define the digital gap: wired telephone connections and mobile connections. Access to these technologies has brought the country to a state of dramatic interconnection, and if they continue to be relied on in policy initiatives now before us, there is a broad scope for true leapfrogged development that leaves every dilemma for others’ consideration. The provision of access to appropriate technologies is intended to ensure that businesses can compete, communities can grow, and that those who find themselves in poverty or on the fringes can take viable steps towards mainstreaming. This section moves us to acknowledge that there are critical barriers to the equitable distribution of technology, such that should they require analysis because of the nature of the communities (one could say an analysis of the cost of extending access to a rural community is far more significant than that of an inner-city urban community). Where will such policies be leading our country and her citizens?
3.2. Internet Connectivity
Jamaica has made major strides to improve connectivity, but there are still many gaps in internet connectivity when you leave the island’s major population centers. Connectivity can be sporadic, expensive, and always of very low speeds. Many schools do not have reliable connectivity and are still reliant on mobile data in addition to not being able to afford a computer for every student. Businesses do not have reliable internet services and most certainly do not have access to high-speed broadband connections, which would enable them to take part in the digital economy. Most other people suffering from the same problems don’t live all that far from the capital city of Kingston. Telecommunication companies in Jamaica are divided into two categories: those that have been around for years and have built up considerable infrastructure, and those that are trying to improve the poor infrastructure and reach the segments of the market that are unserved by first-world networks. The providers in the first category are hindered by technical and infrastructural problems that they face in building new networks and improving old ones. Their services and the infrastructure they have built are inaccessible to a significant proportion of Jamaica’s population that lives in the western and eastern extremities of the island. In fact, the three westernmost parishes of Jamaica are surprisingly parochial, and foreign investors are wary of investing here because of racial problems dating back centuries. The result of this is that a large proportion of Jamaicans living in rural areas do not have access to broadband internet. Only 38.3% of Jamaicans have access to the internet, the majority of which is in large population centers. 43.4% of urban Jamaicans have access to the internet while only 22% of Jamaicans living in rural areas are able to access the web. This number is continually increasing, and without widespread investment in the country’s telecommunications infrastructure, this growth will not reach a large proportion of the country’s residents. The first step to changing the situation and making the necessary investments is to make it profitable or economically viable. For that to happen, we need to be able to sell our products and services. To do that, we need customers, which is the purpose of this text.
3.3. Digital Literacy
As digital literacy is a major concern in Jamaica, a large proportion of the Jamaican adult population does not use computers, specifically technology devices such as tablets, desktop PCs, and smartphones. It follows that lacking necessary digital literacy skills to operate technology devices, though the infrastructure is in place, limits access and utility. This has dire consequences for many in Jamaica, including those unable to engage in distance learning, or those shut out who otherwise may want to enter the job market; occupational associations and research findings show that the digital divide in learning is an emerging inequity in social development and the very fabric of society. Thus, programs to build the digital literacy of various communities of interest are necessary. Earlier evidence shows that within the Jamaican context, a striking percentage of persons in deep rural and urban areas, especially the poor, elderly, low-educated, unemployed, racial minorities, single mothers, and single parents are far behind even moderate-level users and will require access to technology-assisted learning for training in digital literacy duties if there is to be an ICT potential and benefit to the broader society. The wide divide in knowledge across Jamaican society in general bodes ill for the future management of this knowledge-intensive, computer-based activities of the future information society consistent with the government’s broad e-strategy and high national level in the K-economy.
The usage of digital literacy skills implies consumption of digital technology applications for functional areas of English and Math; Literacy and Numeracy; and Tertiary. ICT professionals would require training in English and Math to become qualified to join call centers; geographical areas suitable for BPO in Montego Bay and Kingston; and Embassy Class clientele services. Meanwhile, the development student will be expected to engage in learning English and Mathematics, in addition to their major program of study at all higher institutions. This relates to the concept of a knowledge-producing university that will contribute to developing content for the BPO, information technology, software, and other applications. Upon graduation, these students could possibly be employed to form the Jamaican equivalent to Silicon Valley represented by a ‘call center’-valley. One of the facilitated approaches to knowledge transfer and production to be emphasized is the recent emergence of niche markets in Business, Academia, and Global change. These will be facilitated in partnership with other facilities at the university, focusing on the repatriation of knowledge, which is directly related to Jamaica; hence, marketing will be done abroad. With continuous involvement of the stakeholder partners at the envisioned design stage, the belief is that all the key activities indicated above will be cost-effective in meeting its well-defined objectives. Digital literacy is seen as important for individual potential and household benefits from usage. It is an essential enabler of national development of Dot force needs. Given the high level of socio-economic rates of growth, there is an ever-growing challenge of upgrading people. This collective upgrade of Jamaicans is necessary in order to make international outsourcing through the multi-country global value chain more advantageous.
4. Challenges Hindering Digital Inclusion
Several systemic barriers and challenges result in a large proportion of the Jamaican population being digitally excluded. At the microeconomic level, low income and poverty rates cause severe digital exclusion. In fact, poverty levels are noted as being high and are more pronounced in rural areas, and approximately one-third of the population is classified as poor. Low levels of educational attainment and a lack of digital skills also exacerbate the digital divide. From the infrastructure perspective, digital exclusion is brought about by geographic isolation, a lack of basic digital infrastructure, and inadequate ICT.
Digital inequality is also influenced by cybersecurity attacks, which create apprehension in people’s use of digital tools. Additionally, a lack of awareness and reticence to use digital financial services places the savings of poor people at risk. Quite often, parishes in Jamaica are large, with people in distant rural areas being geographically excluded from city centers where local administrators and service providers live. This factor, in combination with the inconsistency in access to broadband and electricity within these parishes, leads to a digital inclusion challenge. It can be inferred from the previous discussions that the digital inclusion challenge in Jamaica is quite multifaceted and multidimensional, with most cases displaying the interconnectedness of economic, social, infrastructural, and physical factors. The following sections aim to address these challenges and, consequently, reduce the deep economic, geographical, and social disparities that underpin them.
The understanding of the unique peculiarities of the aforementioned groups will be critical in ensuring the implementation of effectively targeted digital divide-reducing strategies.
5. Policy Frameworks and Initiatives
4.1 Policy Frameworks Although there is no national policy on digital inclusion, the government has undertaken a number of legislative and regulatory measures that seek to increase digital access and use in underserved and lower income communities. These include several projects funded by the Universal Service Fund, an agency of the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology. USF-funded projects aim, inter alia, to provide Internet access to remote and rural areas, while facilitating the establishment of community access points. 4.3 Private Sector and Non-Profit Initiatives There are several initiatives by non-profit organizations and private sector entities aimed at improving digital literacy and access in Jamaica, including: CyberWatch Jamaica; the Granville Computer Resource Centre’s A+ Programme; the Sachkodie-Webster Foundation; New Fortress Energy Corporate Responsibility; Flow Foundation’s Everybody On Programme; HDoC Jamaica; and JAMPRO Animation and Video Gaming Initiative. Analysis Jamaica has a number of good initiatives through which partners and stakeholders can learn relevant lessons in solving the digital divide problem. Among policy initiatives, these include the activities of the USF and others. Implementing these projects and learning from them, evaluating successful projects in light of local problems and contexts in order to better develop a clear, comprehensive national digital policy, will create real and lasting social change. To date, the overall response from developing and developed countries, such as Jamaica, appears to be piecemeal, and often projects fail to fully consider the multi-dimensional and interconnected elements of the digital divide. As a result, the most striking limitation in implementing the initiatives found in both the Caribbean and Jamaica, and elsewhere in the world, is the lack of a comprehensive approach by all possible stakeholders.
5.1. Government Strategies
5.1. Government Strategies
Digital inclusion as a part of policy has become increasingly important to the Government of Jamaica. The community access program aims to provide public access to ICT and internet-related resources as well as e-government services. The Path Program has a component of the e-learning project under the MLSW where they have a project titled Human Employment and Resource Training Trust – HEART e-Learn Jamaica. This project utilizes a public-private partnership as its funding strategy to provide courses in academic, certificate, and diploma using the internet and interactive e-learning portals.
Several projects the government intends to implement are aimed at promoting access to technology as a means of lessening the digital divide in Jamaica. They include the Universal Service Fund initiative to provide ICT infrastructure for educational institutions; a digital literacy and access project to offer beneficiaries basic computer operation and office management training; e-learning offered by HEART Trust/NTA, currently targeting out-of-school and underemployed individuals with the opportunity to do up to seven e-learning courses and may or may not take the relevant assessment for this course. It also assesses the performance of students at the CXC and the City & Guilds level, and the course lasts for six weeks online at a cost and includes a credit towards a maximum of two proctored assessments. Support may also be available to accommodate a refund to students who have successfully completed a course of study. Furthermore, the Education for All program is planning to include a training program for parents, teachers, and students in the design and use of technology; projects that are targeting potential BPO workers and offering them training in the use of the internet to ensure that they get 21st-century work. In some cases, the training may include other skills such as language training available at community colleges and local agencies. All the projects above are focusing on training, therefore making the assumption that access is not the problem.
5.2. Non-Profit and Private Sector Involvement
Non-profit and private sector involvement
Voluntary and non-profit organizations in Jamaica contribute to bridging the digital divide through the same channels outlined in Section 5.1. However, there are also many joint efforts by entities that aim at pandemic response and leveraging the rapid changes for the development of the sector. Jamaica’s policy regarding the role of certain companies or sectors might have to support non-profit or voluntary initiatives. Currently, much of the support is in the field of enhancing access to technology and building ICT literacy as businesses gradually move to use more technology. Successful sustainable initiatives in this area are:
(1) Starfish International has developed and operates a community access point in Kingston. Starfish also runs an ICT training program for vulnerable youth at the access point and in the community; (2) i-Volunteer is an initiative of the United Way of Kingston and is implemented by the Victoria Mutual Building Society Foundation. i-Volunteer calls for literacy volunteers to tutor at local schools. The internet is used as a recruitment tool, and there are plans in place to develop the i-Volunteer website into an educational portal with online support for volunteer tutors. The BCCJ and the Ministry of Education are currently working on three community access point projects in rural Jamaica. The projects will provide community-based access points to underserved persons in these areas. These projects fall under BCCJ’s e-Jamaica program, which aims to create a “knowledge-based” society by increasing local access to a wide range of educational materials primarily via the internet.
6. Successful Case Studies in Digital Inclusion
This backdrop of repeated failures in effectively bridging both the digital divide and the lackluster economic growth of inner-city communities suggests a pressing task. We must search diligently for an eclectic blend of mutually supportive strategies sufficiently potent to counter the confluence of roadblocks keeping marginalized Jamaicans digitally and economically impoverished. Therefore, we must turn to these case studies with hope that they will inspire lessons and ideas to guide and strengthen technology and communications policy in our society. Many of the case studies represent uniquely tailored solutions to particular local challenges. Nevertheless, several features link them together. The selected initiatives all offer unique products in the fields of both technology and education and were developed in situations where they had limited capital. The evaluations of the pilot projects in various locations each provide iterative updates on the effects and local applicability of these strategies. Much of the advice provided to those seeking to replicate these programs is not technical. One of the factors that enhances these programs’ chances of success is their fluidity in design. Stakeholders are key in the programmatic design and are vital in the monitoring and evaluation of its effects. The recommendations made repeatedly in these case studies suggest that dedicated and individual stakeholder-driven initiatives situated on the periphery of public ventures to harness technology for the world’s benefit are bound to be more effective than current mass initiatives in place. Governments, educational providers, and interested volunteers can make these programs work, but in order for them to do so, the stakeholder participants and international networks must be woven into a flexible model of evolving service delivery that is international in scope.
7. Community Engagement and Grassroots Efforts
The need for community engagement has been evident since the start of including marginalized groups in the digital world. The Jamaican public is at the forefront of initiatives that target audience participation both at the community level, where local solutions can be implemented and specific needs targeted, and at the level of grassroots activity, often carried out by locally grown organizations.
Local leadership fosters local participation and local digital literacy.
Local digital literacy and involvement in technology require community-driven initiatives. From the ground up, Jamaicans have taken noble but significant steps to address local issues. Residents of Manchester, St. Elizabeth, and Clarendon, along with Frances Mair, principal of Goshen Primary School, and Rev. Patrice Williams, local area achievers, interact with national leaders in a public high-speed broadband forum held at the Mandeville Parish Church Hall. The conference on national broadband aims to address connectivity challenges. This intervention from Manchester was the brainchild of public and private sector officials and individuals who agreed to contribute their entrance fee to the proposed community computer center. The value of community engagement is evident from conversations between IMC students following a presentation on Caribbean Creators Guild and Maroon Horizons. The social enterprise connections they are building will enable the communities to connect to global indigenous movements and the international internet community. Our community project can only work by training our project directors. Community needs-based e-isolation assessment is implemented in Manitoba.
8. Innovative Technologies for Inclusion
There are various innovative digital tools and technologies that can transform and catalyze digital inclusion. Learning platforms, HCI-based learning systems, computational tools, and information websites can be developed as mobile applications that deliver the right information at the right level, in the right context, anywhere and anytime. Low-cost mobile and other devices can be designed to overcome the specific disability attributes that students with special needs develop to perform IT and computer-based tasks. The tool can be designed to access and utilize spoken and other forms of information, as well as to communicate based on spoken and other forms of messages. These devices would be derived from a smaller software system that has been declared a national standard for a special target group such as those with visual impairments.
Other great solutions are proven examples that have worked in other countries and societies and have resulted in narrowing, if not closing, the digital divide. Access to telecentres, telehouses, and televillages; university, college, school, and community access to quality local, national, and international e-learning websites and learning management software; illiterate persons, at school and home, using voice-based electronic learning applications; use and reuse of learning objects in e-learning and m-learning; use of Internet technologies for online education and training; negotiation skills; implementation of a practical model of “virtual skill training” that offers young women and men an “innovative pedagogy” based on an approach where ICT is an enabling tool and not the primary objective. What these examples tell us is that technology can and is being used to reach out to the groups of people that mainstream broadcasting and publishing activities have hitherto been poor at reaching. The common denominator, of course, is that we are talking about initiatives that are defined by having a means of using the technology to help different groups. Furthermore, it is increasingly clear that while very interesting and innovative initiatives are being taken, they represent a relatively small proportion of people who are being left out. This is partly because, while the numbers are large, those interested in using this technology with different groups are still relatively few. It will require more people, institutions, etc., to become interested in and committed to the use of Internet and telecoms to work with different groups in society if significant progress is to be made towards digital inclusion. The principle of using technology in these ways is “full inclusion”: this encourages us to find ways to adapt the technology for as many needs as possible – in general, ‘one size fits one.’ In places such as schools and public libraries, this capacity to adapt technology will also need to take account of prevailing restrictions such as budgets and staff availability. The process of doing this on a national scale with limited resources is likely to be expensive since it will involve adapting a wide range of products and services. One possible source of money is the technology companies that design and manufacture these goods, for whom a happy word in the ear of governments may be an investment in a future market. (Lee et al., 2022)(Walker et al.2021)(Yin et al.2020)(Banerjee2020)(Armaou et al.2020)(Brody et al.2022)(Humm & Schrögel, 2020)(Woodall et al.2020)(Ngwa et al.2020)(Mehra et al., 2020)
9. Measuring the Impact of Digital Inclusion Efforts
Ultimately, with many efforts in the rapidly evolving technology sector, the goal is to have a sustainable impact. Therefore, monitoring and evaluating the impact of the digital inclusion effort is essential. Several possible frameworks are adapted from various sources. Methodologies include:
1. Impact evaluations to measure the effect and efficiency between variables; and
2. Outcome evaluations for systems-based assessment of project relevance, outcomes, effectiveness, scale, sustainability, and efficiency, all components of the process. In a comprehensive framework such as this, data collection of indicators will be crucial. In fact, it has been noted that the best evaluations are those that occur as a continuous part of the development cycle.
It is indeed the case that in order to understand the full impact of the technology access initiative, all stakeholders must learn to speak the same data-driven language. Indeed, as many panelists argued, collaboration is just as important within the private sector to gather data on outcomes. More specifically, where proprietary impacts are also identified, it was proposed to organize data based on standard inputs and outputs to allow the technology community to analyze new criteria based on the program and its strategy. This arrangement not only presents a consistent language for stakeholders but also assesses the effectiveness of products and programs. Therefore, there is certainly a need to increase the capability of organizations and initiatives to collect even basic impact data in addition to outputs collected. In fact, many decision-makers are focusing on evidence-based decision-making because of the importance of ROI, so it can be assumed that access initiatives may suffer without such proof.
10. Future Trends and Emerging Technologies
The number of connected devices is expected to exceed 200 billion devices in 2030, while the number of potential users, by population, is estimated at the 10 billion mark. As society continues to transform into a smarter world, there may be several influencing trends and technologies presenting new development opportunities for the digital inclusion efforts of Jamaica. 5G: The continued rollout of 5G networks globally could make substantial new technology applications not just viable, but expected and convenient for ordinary internet users. The Internet of Things (IoT): The expansion of the IoT, or the connection of physical things through network technology, could make the average Jamaican’s surroundings more interconnected. The IoT could reduce the early push for certain services or classes of services due to automation features. Real-time and Predictive Analytics: New consumer insights and services could emerge for the early adoption of machine learning at the backend, able to bring about future innovation and increased user experience through fast and predictable feedback during service interactions. Artificial Intelligence: Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be expected to change the way people interact with digital service providers, promote new business model exploration, and possibly reverse job losses in the service sector as new digital industries are created. We are aware that future policy for digital inclusion must include foresight to be able to capitalize on and defend against these trends and technologies. With this, we are assured that the only constant is change, and Jamaica will have to continuously adapt to an increasingly technological society. Let us ensure that, as a society, we know how current efforts can bridge the gap and optimize for future technologies. So, where do we go from here? The future of our digital inclusion policy looks quite different since we have looked at the changing forces of digital exclusion, the new trends coming through in society, and the emergent technologies that are shaping industry. This is, perhaps, where we have most challenged our thinking – for a policy that looks to the future needs to be more than evidence-based; it needs to embrace foresight.
11. Conclusion and Recommendations
Conclusion
The analysis presented in this essay sought to understand how the digital divide is represented in the literature on Jamaica, as well as the existing challenges at the core of this phenomenon. We found that, among other things, there are material infrastructure challenges and financial demands that complicate and even inhibit plans and possibilities for broadband uptake and maintenance. The initiatives currently being undertaken within the island are informed by insights about the nature of the digital divide, but they are not necessarily customized to the local particularities of Jamaica’s end-users or to the infrastructure of the island itself, which could be hampering the nature of that digital transition. This paper has argued the need for these divides in access and use to be addressed in each community in an effort to not further marginalize those who were initially left behind.
We recommend using more qualitative research to gain a more granular understanding of the digital habits, routines, challenges, and opportunities that island communities are facing. Moreover, tactics for digital inclusion on the island need to be specific to the overall goals of the individual communities that would be the focus of interventions. It is also advised that digital introductory training, digital inclusion initiatives, and connectivity conversations occur in parallel to allow these communities to have critical engagement with digital infrastructures as they come online in their spaces. Finally, it is hoped that redistribution policies are used to upgrade to more fiber and broadband as they come to the island, facilitating access to reliable, long-term broadband for all Jamaicans. Because of what is at stake, we recommend dialogue between and input from all researchers, practitioners, regulators, and commercial providers of digital infrastructure to ensure that the island is in a continual dialogue on how to further digital inclusion. Because the potential positive effect of this could have social and, subsequently, economic benefits within the island, a continual process of monitoring and evaluation is recommended to ensure that strategies are fluid and always in line with the needs of Jamaica. The existing divides in digital access and use in Jamaica need to be addressed. Many of the communities identified here have either no internet access or poor access and, in part because of their island condition, are set to be among the most affected by the problem of being left behind in increasingly digital economies.
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